20 Things to Watch: Week 6 (2023 Fantasy Baseball)

With the season over a month old now, it is important to look at some storylines and aspects this week to be ahead of the curve and gain an edge on your league mates.

20 Things to Watch in Week 6

Week 6 Schedule Notes

The following team has just five games this week:

Boston Red Sox (at ATL, vs STL)
Toronto Blue Jays (at PHI, vs ATL)
Atlanta Braves (vs BOS, at TOR)
Philadelphia Phillies (vs TOR, at COL)

The following teams have 7 games weeks:

New York Yankees (vs OAK, vs TB)
Chicago White Sox (at KC, vs HOU)
Kansas City Royals (vs CHW, at MIL)
Oakland A’s (at NYY, vs TEX)
Texas Rangers (at SEA, at OAK)
Arizona Diamondbacks (vs MIA, at SF)
San Francisco Giants (vs WAS, at ARI)

Matt Mervis

Mervis made his Major League debut on Friday going 1-for-4 with a couple of RBIs. He is one the top prospects in the Cubs farm system. He was the talk of the Arizona Fall League in November and was starting to rocket up the ADP in early drafts before the Cubs went out and signed Eric Hosmer and Trey Mancini to block his path to an Opening Day roster spot. He has power and a pretty good hit tool and the Cubs have committed to an every day role moving forward.

CES

Christian Encarnacion-Strand is absolutely murdering the ball in AAA for the Reds, hitting .432/.468/.955 with seven home runs. He is a top tier prospect and his call up to the Major Leagues feels imminent. If you are looking for a power prospect and miss out on Mervis, the Encarnacion-Strand is a high upside stash.

Bryce Harper

Bryce Harper has returned from the IL way sooner than anyone anticipated. Right now he is DHing, but the question will be how many games will the Phillies let him play each week and when will he play the field? He started his first three games, but there was a day off in between games 2 and 3. This is something to watch because in most leagues, he is UT only eligible.

Wade In the Waters

LaMonte Wade Jr. has quietly had a nice start to the season, hitting .256/.422/.551 with six home runs and a stolen base. Wade is showing really nice underlying numbers with elite zone contact and great patience at the plate while barreling the ball 15% of the time. He is even hitting lefties well which will give the platoon happy Giants the reason to let him play full time. He should be rostered in most formats.

Miller Time

Bryce Miller made his Major league debut, throwing six scoreless innings versus the A’s, only allowing two hits and no walks while striking out 10. Miller has a fantastic fastball and slider combo with a curve that is usable. He can have occasional issues with command, but with most people throwing money at Brandon Pfaadt and Matt Mervis, Miller may be the best pick up of the week.

Vaughn Grissom On Borrowed Time?

Grissom has struggled at the Major League level since getting called up, hitting just .258 with no home runs and no stolen bases while being bad defensively. He is walking just 3% of the time as well. With Orlando Arcia working his way back and Braden Shewmake coming up, Grissom may be headed back to AAA very soon.

Braden Shewmake Called Up

Shewmake was called up to the Major Leagues by the Braves. With Grissom struggling, Shewmake could be in line for a fair amount of playing time at shortstop. He doesn’t profile as a major impact player, but there is adequate power and a good amount of speed in a great lineup. He is worth grabbing in deeper formats.

Captain Kirilloff

Alex Kirilloff was called up by the Twins on Friday. Kirillof is a former top prospect that has hit at every step in the minor leagues. However, he has struggled to make an impact at the Major League level in large part because he has not been able to stay healthy. He looks healthy now and was destroying AAA and should be picked up in all formats.

Liam Hendriks Returning?

Hendriks is beginning a minor-league rehab assignment. Hendriks has been out battling cancer, but he is now cancer free and on the field. There is no timetable yet for his return, but he should be stashed in all formats as he likely goes back to being a top 10 closer once he is ready to rejoin the White Sox who are in desperate need of bullpen help.

Luis Ortiz

Vince Velasquez was shut down with an elbow injury which is unfortunate because of how well he was pitching. However, Velasquez’s pain could be Luis Ortiz’s gain. Ortiz showed some really nice skills in a brief call up to the Majors last year with a great fastball and slider. He struggles with control but has decent command. He should be the replacement in the rotation and is a nice stash pick up in deeper formats.

Rays World

With Pete Fairbanks hitting the IL with a forearm issue, the Rays will be needing a replacement in the ninth inning. While it seems likely that they go back to the Tampa Bay committee that we have seen in the past, Jason Adam should lead that committee and could take the job for himself. Fairbanks is reportedly going to be back sooner than later, but I am very skeptical of that. I am taking a shot at Adam in a lot of spots.

Made of Clay

Clay Holmes has struggled this season, posting a 4.50 ERA and two losses. He is walking too many guys and no longer has a stranglehold on the closer job. Michael King has gotten the last two saves and could be taking over the role as we speak.

14-15. Steaming Options

Jhony Brito vs OAK

Brito has been up and down since making his debut, but he gets a really nice matchup here versus the worst team in baseball. This isn’t necessarily a long term play, but just a premium matchup that you want to take advantage of.

Peyton Battenfield vs DET

With the Guardians demoting Zach Plesac, Battenfield will return to the rotation. He has shown he can be a serviceable starter in good matchups. He already won a game against the Tigers in April. He is not a long term play either as he is likely a placeholder for Gavin Williams who should be up at the end of the month or in June.

16-20. Two Start Recommendations

Zach Eflin (at BAL, at NYY)

Eflin has been fantastic when he has been on the mound, posting a 2.25 ERA and a .96 WHIP with 31 strikeouts in 28 innings. He gets a decent two step and while I usually avoid the Yankees, without Judge they have been pedestrian.

Tanner Bibee (vs DET, vs LAA)

Bibee has been fantastic since making his debut, posting a 2.45 ERA in 11 innings. He gets a great matchup versus the Tigers and a tougher one versus the Angels and he is pretty close to a must start.

Braxton Garrett (at ARI, vs CIN)

Garrett got absolutely destroyed by the Braves in his last start, but I am not worried about that. This is a really nice two step versus the Diamondbacks who are good but not great and a bad Reds team away from Great American Ballpark that struggles versus lefties. I think this is a pretty nice stream for a two step.

Anthony DeSclafani (vs WAS, at ARI)

Tony Disco has been fantastic this season, throwing 38 innings with a 2.13 ERA and a .82 WHIP. He gets a really nice two step versus a struggling Nationals team and Diamondbacks team that is just ok. He is a must start and he isn’t even rostered in every league.

MLB Streamers Two-Start Pitchers Weekly Advice Matt Mervis Eric Hosmer Trey Mancini Christian Encarnacion-Strand Bryce Harper LaMonte Wade Jr. Bryce Miller Brandon Pfaadt Vaughn Grissom Orlando Arcia Braden Shewmake Alex Kirilloff Liam Hendriks Luis Ortiz Vince Velasquez Pete Fairbanks Jason Adam Clay Holmes Michael King Jhony Brito Peyton Battenfield Zach Plesac Gavin Williams Zach Eflin Tanner Bibee Braxton Garrett Anthony DeSclafani

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About Author

Justin Mason

@JustinMasonFWFB

Justin Mason is the lead fantasy writer and analyst for Friendswithfantasybenefits.com. He is a writer at Fangraphs and Fantasy Pros. You can hear him on the Radio on the FWFB, TGFBI and the Sleeper and the Bust Podcasts. He also runs The Great Fantasy Baseball Invitational and the Bay Area Roto Fantasy (BARF) league.